UPC CoA, 12 November 2024: Withdrawal of opt-out not blocked by pre-UPC national litigation
20-11-2024 Print this page
Entitled to withdraw opt-out, unless the earlier national litigation was brought during the transitional regime (Article 83(4) UPCA).
Considering the wording, structure, object and purpose of Art. 83 UPCA as a whole, the Court of Appeal is of the opinion that the sentence “Unless an action has already been brought before a national court” in Art. 83(4) UPCA must be understood to refer to an action brought before a national court during the transitional regime.
Rules of interpretation of the UPCA.
The rules of interpretation laid down in Article 31(1) of the Vienna Convention: A treaty shall be interpreted in good faith in accordance with the ordinary meaning to be given to the term of the treaty and in the light of its object and purpose.
The Rules of Procedure as a lower ranking instrument related to the UPCA may serve to fill a gap but cannot serve to overrule the clear meaning of a higher-ranking provision of the UPCA (R. 1(1) RoP).
Preparatory work of the UPCA may be looked at only to confirm an interpretation, or to determine when the interpretation in accordance with the general rule of interpretation leaves the meaning ambiguous.
IPPT20241112, UPC CoA, AIM Sport v Supponor